Immunoassay for tetrahydrocannabinol metabolites

ABSTRACT

Novel cannabinol derivatives are provided which can be used in improved immunoassays for the detection in blood or urine samples of cannabinol metabolites. The novel cannabinol derivatives are of the formula: &lt;CHEM&gt;  where R is an attachment chain selected from the group consisting of a p-aminophenol group or a branched or linear aminoalkyl group having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms or an organic or mineral acid addition salt thereof, an isocyanate or isothiocyanate derivative of the p-aminophenol or aminoalkyl group, a carboxyl terminated derivative of the aminoalkyl group having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms or a salt thereof, and an activated derivative of the carboxyl terminated derivative.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to methods for the preparation of noveltetrahydrocannabinol derivatives and to the use of these derivatives asreagents in improved immunoassays for cannabinol metabolites inbiological fluid samples.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Increases in the use of marijuana have led to the development of assaysfor the detection of the primary active constituent of the plant, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and, more particularly, metabolites of THCin urine and blood samples. These assays employ the use of labeledcannabinol derivatives in conjunction with antibodies againstmetabolites of the drug.

In practice, a blood or urine sample suspected to contain cannabinolmetabolites (including glucuronides and other conjugation products) iscontacted with the antibodies in the presence of a labeled derivative.To the extent that cannabinol metabolites are present in the sample,there will be competition for binding to the combining sites of theantibodies, and the amount of the labeled derivative bound will bereduced in proportion to the degree of such competition.

Descriptions of some representative immunoassays can be found inO'Connor et al., J. Anal. Toxicol. 5:168 (1981), Law et al., J. Anal.Toxicol. 8:14 (1984) and Childs et al., J. Anal. Toxicol. 8:220 (1984).In all of these references, it is the displacement of some of thelabeled cannabinol derivative by metabolites in the assay samples thatis the basis of the assays described. Superior assay results will beobtained when the labeled derivative is specifically recognized by theantibodies and yet easily displaced by the various products ofcannabinol metabolism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to novel compounds which are derivativesof cannabinol of the formulae ##STR1## where R is an attachment chainselected from the group consisting of a p-aminobenzyl group or abranched or linear aminoalkyl group having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms oran organic or mineral acid addition salt thereof, an isocyanate orisothiocyanate derivative of the p-aminobenzyl or aminoalkyl group, acarboxyl terminated derivative of the aminoalkyl group having from 1 to7 additional carbon atoms or a salt thereof, and an activated derivativeof the carboxyl terminated derivative.

This invention further relates to the use of labeled derivatives of theabove compounds with antibodies against cannabinol metabolites orderivatives for the detection of cannabinol metabolites in blood orurine samples. Detection of the metabolites is facilitated by the use ofthe labeled derivative compounds, which comprise the compounds of theinvention covalently coupled to a suitable reporter molecule.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present invention may be more readily understood by reference to thefollowing figures, in which

FIG. 1 shows the formulae of the starting materials and intermediatesinvolved in the synthesis of(trans-rac)-1-(3-aminopropoxy)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicacid monohydrochloride;

FIG. 2 shows the formulae of the intermediates and final product of thesynthesis of(trans-rac)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-1-(4-aminobenzyl)-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicacid; and

FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of a standard curve for theimmunoassay of THC, showing change in absorbance at 492 nm as a functionof 9-carboxy-11-nor-Δ⁹ -tetrahydro-cannabinol concentration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The immunoassays of the present invention are directed to the assay ofcannabinol metabolites in biological fluids such as human blood andurine samples. As used herein, the term "cannabinol metabolites" meansΔ⁸ or Δ⁹ tetrahydrocannabinol and the catabolic products of thesecompounds, including conjugation products such as the glucuronides. Theterm "cannabinol derivative" means a chemically synthesized derivativeof Δ⁸ or Δ⁹ tetrahydrocannabinol.

Antibodies used in the invention can be prepared using any one of a widerange of possible immunogens. These immunogens comprise a cannabinolmetabolite or derivative conjugated to a suitable immunogenic carriermolecule. Conjugation to a carrier is necessary because the cannabinolmetabolites or derivatives themselves are haptens (molecules which arecapable of specifically binding to an antibody but incapable ofeliciting antibody production, i.e., they are not immunogenic).

As used herein, the term "immunogenic carrier molecule" meansmacromolecules which have the property of independently eliciting animmunological response in a host animal and which can be covalentlycoupled to the cannabinol metabolite or derivative. Suitable carriermolecules include, e.g., proteins; natural or synthetic polymericcompounds such as polypeptides; polysaccharides etc. Protein carriermolecules are especially preferred. Once coupled to a carrier molecule,the cannabinol metabolite or derivative becomes immunogenic due to whatis commonly known as the "carrier effect".

Protein carriers which may be used in this invention include but are notlimited to mammalian serum proteins such as keyhole limpet hemocyanin,human or bovine gammaglobulin, human, bovine or rabbit serum albumin, ormethylated or other derivatives of such proteins. Other protein carrierswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. Preferably, but notnecessarily, the protein carrier will be foreign to the host animal inwhich antibodies against the cannabinol metabolite or derivative are tobe elicited.

Covalent coupling to the carrier molecule can be carried out by methodswell known in the art, the exact choice of which will be dictated by thenature of the functional groups in the cannabinol metabolite orderivative and in the carrier molecule available for coupling.

Once prepared, the immunogen can be used to induce the formation ofantibodies that are specific to cannabinol metabolites in host animalsby injecting the immunogen in a host animal, preferably using aconventional adjuvant such as Freund's complete or incomplete adjuvantand the like. Suitable host animals include rabbits, horses, goats,guinea pigs, rats, cows, sheep, etc. The resulting antiserum must besuch that the antibodies contained therein, called anti-THC antibodies,are capable of specifically binding to the cannabinol metabolites whichare to be assayed and to the labeled compounds of the invention bearingreporter groups, as described below. The suitability of the antiserumproduct can be rapidly ascertained by routine experimentation.

In an illustrative embodiment, anti-THC antibodies produced againstthree different conjugates based upon three THC derivatives coupled atthe 9 position were pooled for use in the invention (see Example 14). Itagain must be stressed, however, that the exact nature of the conjugatesused to make the antibodies is not critical to the invention, as long asthe resulting antibodies have the requisite broad specificity for THCmetabolites.

Although whole antiserum can be used, the IgG fraction is preferablyisolated by salt fractionation, such as ammonium sulphate precipitation,by DEAE chromatography or by other means known in the art.

Some of the novel cannabinol compounds of the present invention arederivatives of a major metabolite of THC, ##STR2## in which the phenolichydroxyl group is modified by replacement of the phenolic hydrogen by ap-aminobenzyl group or an amino-terminal alkyl group which can have from1 to 7 carbon atoms. Where an amino alkyl group is used, the group maybe branched or straight chain, such as aminopropyl, aminoisopropyl,aminobutyl, aminoisobutyl and the like.

The amino compounds and intermediates of the invention may be utilizedas free bases or as acid addition salts of organic or mineral acids.Representative addition salts that could be used include hydrochloride,hydrobromide, sulfonate, methanesulfonate, nitrate, phosphate,trifluoroacetate, oxalate, maleate, succinate, acetate and the like.

Other compounds of the invention are isocyanate or isothiocyanatederivatives of the amino compounds, which can be prepared by treatingthe p-aminobenzyl or amino-terminal alkyl groups with phosgene andthiophosgene, respectively.

Still other compounds of the invention are carboxyl terminatedderivatives of the aminoalkyl compounds. Such carboxyl derivatives canbe prepared by methods commonly used in the art. For example, theamino-terminal alkyl groups can be treated with chloro, bromo or iodohaloorganic acids having from 1 to about 7 carbon atoms, to producecarboxyl terminal derivatives. Such compounds can be employed as such oras salts such as Na⁺, NH₄ + and the like. These carboxyl derivatives canbe coupled to amino or hydroxyl groups on suitable reporter moleculesthrough the use of coupling agents such as1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide or, preferably,dicyclohexylcarbodiimide.

Alternatively, the carboxyl compounds can be further modified to produceactivated derivatives such as N-hydroxysuccinimide ester derivatives.Such derivatives can be prepared by reacting the carboxyl derivativeswith a desired activating compound such as N-hydroxysuccinimide in thepresence of a coupling agent such as dicyclohexylcarbodiimide.

It must be stressed that it is the availability of an attachment chainat the phenolic hydroxyl group of THC that imparts superior diagnosticproperties to the compounds of this invention. The skilled artisan willimmediately recognize that through the use of the intermediates of theinvention, there are many other ways that similar attachment chains withsimilar functional groups suitable for coupling to reporter groups canbe prepared. For example, a carboxyl terminated derivative could beprepared directly without proceeding by way of an amino derivative asdescribed herein.

The available functional groups in the compounds of the inventionprovide a convenient point for labeling by the covalent coupling of anappropriate reporter group, to facilitate detection in the immunoassays.

Suitable reporter groups for the labeled compounds include, e.g., biotin(to be use in conjunction with appropriately tagged avidin);fluorescent, chemiluminescent or bioluminescent groups; or radioisotopessuch as ³ H, ¹⁴ C, ³⁵ S and ¹²⁵ I, which can readily be introduced intothe molecule in many forms well known in the art, due to theavailability of the amino and carboxyl groups in the compounds. Suchgroups can be detected and quantified by liquid scintillationspectrometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, fluroescence polarization, etc.as appropriate.

Alternatively, conjugate compounds can be prepared in which thecompounds of the invention are covalently linked to an enzyme by thefree functional group, including but not limited to various peroxidases,glucose oxidase, β-galactosidase and alkaline phosphatase. Horseradishperoxidase, which can be detected by spectrophotometric analysis of itsactivity on a substrate such as pyrogallol or o-phenylenediamine, isespecially preferred. Where enzymes are used, the conjugate compoundscan be used in conjunction with conventional additives, buffers,diluents and enzyme stabilizers.

The cannabinol derivatives of this invention make superior reagents foruse in immunoassay, in part because they provide functional groups atwhich labeling can be carried out. More, importantly, the presence ofthe phenolic oxygen side chains creates compounds that can still bind toanti-THC antibodies but which do so with reduced affinity. As a result,they are more easily displaced from the antibody combining sites byassay sample cannabinol metabolites. The immunoassays employing theselabeled compounds are thus extremely sensitive.

The anti-THC antibodies and labeled compounds of the invention can beused in a variety of immunoassays for the detection of cannabinolmetabolites. Such immunoassays could take the form of a radiommunoassay,either in free solution or solid state. Alternatively, enzymeimmunoassays could be carried out, again either in free solution orsolid state. Solid state assays can be carried out by the use of solidparticles onto which the antibodies have been immobilized. Particleswhich could be coated with the antibodies include, e.g., latex beads,liposomes, erythrocytes, polyacrylamide beads, polystyrene beads orbeads made of any of a number of other suitable polymers. Theimmunoassays can be direct or indirect, with the application of a secondantibody directed against the anti-THC antibodies.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a sample suspected tocontain cannabinol metabolites is mixed with known amounts of a labeledcompound of the invention and known amounts of anti-THC antibodiesabsorbed onto a polystyrene bead. Following an incubation period, thebound labeled compound is separated from the free labeled compound, andthe amount of either the free or bound compound is measured and comparedto the values obtained by subjecting samples containing known amounts ofa cannabinol metabolite to the same analytical steps.

EXAMPLES

The following are non-limiting examples which illustrate the synthesisof some of the novel cannabinol derivatives of the invention and the useof one of these compounds in an enzyme immunoassay system. The chemicalstructures of the intermediates and final product of the synthesis of(trans-rac)-1-(3-aminopropoxy)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo-[b,d]pyran-9-carboxylic acid monohydrochloride are shown in FIG. 1. Thechemical structures of the intermediates and final product of thesynthesis of(trans-rac)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-1-(4-aminobenzyl)-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicacid are shown in FIG. 2. The Roman numeral designations of thecompounds in the headings of Examples 1-13 refer to the structuralformulae shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of Ethyl4-methyl-5-hydroxy-7-pentylcoumarin-3-propionate (I)

A 5-liter flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, thermometer andnitrogen bubbler was charged with 210.0 g (1.17 moles) of olivetol(Aldrich), 300.0 g (1.30 moles) of diethyl-2-acetoglutarate (Aldrich)and 180.0 g (1.117 moles) of phosphorus oxychloride. The mixture wasstirred at room temperature and slowly began to thicken. After threedays, the mixture had solidified, at which time it was allowed to standfor an additional 7 days without stirring.

The solid mixture (light green in color) was dissolved in 2.0 l ofmethylene chloride and transferred to a 6-liter separatory funnel. Theorganic layer was washed with 10 l of deionized water in five equalportions and dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄, and the solvent was thenstripped off on a rotary evaporator (40° C., 50 mm Hg) to yield 672.7 g(166%) of a pink solid. This solid was redissolved in 1.0 l of ethylacetate on a steam bath followed by the addition of hexanes withcontinued heating. The solution was allowed to cool to room temperatureand then placed in a freezer (-10° C.) overnight. Resulting crystalswere filtered on a Buchner funnel, washed with about 1.0 l of a mixtureof cold hexanes:ethyl acetate (2:1), and dried at 100° C/10 mm Hg in avacuum oven for 20 hours to yield 243.5 g (60%) of light pink crystals,m.p. 118-120° C.

EXAMPLE 2 Preparation of 7,10Dihydro-1-hydroxy-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-6,9-(8H)-dione (II)

A 5-liter flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, thermometer,addition funnel and nitrogen bubbler was charged with 80.0 g (2.0 moles)of 60% NaH dispersion in mineral oil (Aldrich). The mineral oil wasremoved by washing the dispersion with 1500 ml of hexanes (Fisher) inthree equal portions. One hundred and sixty grams (0.462 mole) ofcompound I were added to the flask, and the two solids were mixedmechanically. A 20° C. constant temperature water bath was placed underthe flask, and 1.4 l of distilled dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) was carefullyadded dropwise so that the temperature of the mixture never rose above20° C.

After 6 hours the addition was complete, and the bath was removed. Themixture was stirred for an additional hour and then placed in a freezer(-10° C.) overnight. The next day the mixture was warmed to roomtemperature and poured into an extractor filled with 12 l of ice waterand 250 ml of concentrated HCl, when it was rapidly stirred for 2 hours.As the mixture was stirred, solids began to precipitate. These solidswere collected by filtration through a Buchner funnel and washed with200 ml of a saturated NaHCO₃ solution followed by 250 ml of deionizedwater. The solids were air dried and then dried in a vacuum over (100°C./1 mm Hg) for 16 hours to yield 124.8 g (90%) of an off-white solid,m.p. 181°-184° C.

EXAMPLE 3 Preparation of7,8,9,10-Tetrahydro-1-hydroxy-3-pentylspiro-6-H-dibenzo(d,b)-pyran-9,2-(1'-3')-dioxolan-6-one(III)

A 3-liter flask equipped with a thermometer, mechanical stirrer,Dean-Strak trap, condenser and nitrogen bubbler was charged with 20.0 g(0.32 mole) of ethylene glycol, 18.4 g (0.062 mole) of compound II, 1.0g of p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate and 1.0 l of toluene. Thesolution was refluxed overnight, and 16.3 ml of azeotropic water werecollected in the trap. The reaction was cooled to room temperature andtransferred to a 2-liter separatory funnel, where it was washed firstwith 300 ml of a saturated NaHCO₃ solution and then with 300 ml ofdeionized water.

The toluene layer was dried over Na₂ SO₄ and then stripped on a rotaryevaporator (60° C./50 mm Hg) to a brown oil that was redissolved inabout 100 ml of methylene chloride. Twenty ml of hexanes were added tothe solution, and the mixture was placed in a freezer (-10° C.)overnight. Crystals formed which were collected by filtration on aBuchner funnel, washed with 30 ml of hexanes and dried overnight in avacuum oven (25° /1 mm Hg) to give 14.7 g (69%) of an off-white solid,m.p. 110°-113° C.

EXAMPLE 4 Preparation ofdl-1-Hydroxy-3-pentyl-6,6-dimethyl-6a,7-dihydro-6H-dibenzo(d,b)pyran-9(8H)-one(IV)

A 3-liter flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, thermometer, heatingmantle, addition funnel, condenser and a nitrogen bubbler was chargedwith 12.5 g (0.515 mole) of Mg turnings (Fisher) and 500 ml of anhydrousether. Then, 73.1 g (0.515 mole) of iodomethane (Aldrich) was addeddropwise to the suspension at such a rate as to maintain a gentlereflux. After completion of the addition (about 30 minutes), thegrey-black solution was refluxed for an additional hour, at which time asolution of 16.9 g (0.040 mole) of compound III in 300 ml of anhydroustetrahydrofuran (THF) was added dropwise to the refluxing solution overa period of 20 minutes. The mixture rapidly turned yellow, and solidsdeposited on the sides of the flask.

The resulting heterogeneous mixture was refluxed overnight and thencooled to room temperature. The mixture was quenched by the carefuladdition of 56 ml of 1N HCl over about 20 minutes to produce a gentlyrefluxing solution. An additional 210 ml of 6N HCl were added over 20minutes, and the dark green mixture was stirred for an additional hourand transferred to a 2-liter separatory funnel, where the aqueous layerwas discarded.

The ether layer was extracted in succession with 200 ml of deionizedwater, 200 ml of a saturated NaHCO₃ solution, and 200 ml of deionizedwater, after which the solution was dried over Na₂ SO₄ and stripped on arotary evaporator (40° C./50 mm Hg) to a dark green oil. Fifty ml ofether was added, and the mixture was allowed to stand overnight at roomtemperature. Crystals formed which were collected on a Buchner funnel,washed twice with 25-50 ml of cold (-10° C.) ether:hexanes (1:1) anddried overnight in a vacuum oven (25° C./1 mm Hg) to give 9.7 g (63%) ofa light yellow material, m.p. 198°-200° C.

Concentration of the mother liquor on a rotary evaporator (40° C./50 mmHg) and the addition of 10 ml of ether produced additional solids thatwere dried in a vacuum oven (25° C./1 mm Hg) to give 1.3 g of a lightgreen solid, m.p. 193°-198° C. Overall yield was 71%.

EXAMPLE 5 Preparation ofdl-6ab,7,10,10a-Tetrahydro-1-hydroxy-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9(8H)-one(V)

A 2-liter jacketed resin flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer,dry-ice condenser, addition funnel and gas inlet valve was charged with1.5 l of liquid NH₃, and 0.15 g of Li wire (Alfa) was added, whichturned the solution blue. After 3 minutes, a solution of 32.0 g (0.102mole) of compound IV in 500 ml of dry THF was added dropwise until theblue color faded. This process was repeated until a total of 2.7 g (0.39g-atom) of Li wire had been added and the addition of compound IV wascomplete (about 2 hr). The blue solution was stirred for 15 minutes at-33° C. and then quenched with 150 ml of saturated NH₄ Cl, addedcarefully over a period of 10 minutes.

The NH₃ was allowed to evaporate rapidly (over about 2.5 hours), afterwhich 500 ml of deionized water were added. The pH of the solution wasadjusted from 12 to 1 with the careful addition (over about 2 hr) of 800ml of concentrated HCl. The solution was extracted with 1.5 l ofmethylene chloride in three equal portions, and the organic phase wasdried over Na₂ SO₄ and stripped on a rotary evaporator (40° C./50 mm Hg)to a yellow, oily solid.

The solid was redissolved in about 100 ml of chloroform on a steam bath,and 500 ml of hexanes were added. The solution was concentrated in arotary evaporator (35° C./50 mm Hg) until about 200 ml of distillate hadbeen collected. Crystals began to form and the mixture was allowed tostand overnight at room temperature, after which the solids werecollected by filtration on a Buchner funnel and washed with 1.5 l ofwarm (50° C.) hexanes in three equal portions.

The washed solids were dried overnight in a vacuum oven (25° C./1 mm Hg)to yield 27 g (84%) of an off-white solid, m.p. 161°-164° C. Thin layerchromatographic comparison with authentic standards in hexanes:EtOAc(3:1) showed that the solid material was primarily compound V, with somecontaminating cis isomer. Purification of the material was carried outby one of two methods.

In the first purification method, a high pressure liquid chromatography(HPLC) Magnum 70 column packed with Partisil 40 silica and employinghexanes:EtOAc (4:1) as the mobile phase was used. A 15-20 g sample wasinjected into the column and 500 ml fractions were collected, with atotal of 8.5 l of mobile phase applied. By this procedure, 72.1 g of thecis/trans mixture was separated into the pure components to yield 55.1 g(76%) of the trans compound V, m.p. 163°-165° C. and 10.3 g (14%) of thecorresponding cis compound, m.p. 145°-148° C.

In an alternative procedure, isomerization was carried out to isomerizeall of the mixture to the trans compound V. A 500ml flask equipped witha mechanical stirrer, thermometer and nitrogen bubbler was charged with11.9 g (0.037 mole) of the above solid material, dissolved in 250 ml ofmethylene chloride and cooled to -10° C. (ice-salt bath). The solutionwas charged with 17.3 g (0.129 mole) of AlCl₃, which raised the internalreaction temperature to -5° C. The suspension was stirred at -5° C. Δ 5°C. for 5 hours and then poured into about 500 ml of ice water andtransferred to a separatory funnel, where the phases were allowed toseparate.

The methylene chloride layer was dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄,concentrated on a rotary evaporator (40° C./50 mm Hg) to an off-whitesolid, suspended in 500 ml of hexanes, and heated to reflux on a steambath for 15 minutes. The warm suspension was filtered on a Buchnerfunnel, washed with about 100 ml of boiling hexanes, and dried in avacuum oven (25° C./10 mm Hg) overnight to yield 9.5 g (80%) of white,solid compound V, m.p. 161°-166.5° C.

EXAMPLE 6 Preparation of(trans-rac)-6a,7,8,9,10,10a-Hexahydro-1,9-dihydroxy-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carbonitrile(VI)

A solution of 5 g (0.0158 mole) of compound V in 175 ml of methanol wasadded to a suspension of 5 g (0.102 mole) of sodium cyanide in 20 ml ofmethanol, and the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperatureunder nitrogen for 2 hours. A solution of 5.75 ml of glacial acetic acidin 50 ml of methanol was added to the mixture, and stirring wascontinued for 30 minutes. The pH of the mixture was adjusted to about 2with anhydrous HCl, and the mixture was stirred overnight undernitrogen.

The solvent was distilled off using a 40° C. water bath and aspiratorover a 1-hour period, after which the residue was partitioned between 75ml of water and 100 ml of methylene chloride. The aqueous layer wasextracted with an additional 100 ml of methylene chloride, after whichthe combined organic layers were dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄ andevaporated in a rotary evaporator (40° C./20 mm Hg) to dryness. Furtherdrying was carried out for 0.5 hr at 0.5 mm Hg, to yield 5.5 g (100%) ofcompound VI as a light yellow foam. This material was used withoutfurther purification for the preparation of compound VII, although ananalytical sample was recrystallized from methylene chloride/petroleumether (1:10) to produce colorless needles, m.p. 131°-133° C.

EXAMPLE 7 Preparation of(trans-rac)-6a,7,8,9,10,10a-Hexahydro-1,9-dihydroxy-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicAcid Methyl Ester (VII)

A stirred solution of 5.5 g (0.0160 mole) of compound VI in 150 ml ofmethanol was treated by bubbling in anhydrous HCl at 3° C. in an icebath over a period of 1.25 hours to saturation. The flask was cappedwith a septum and kept at -20° C. for 48 hours, after which 75 ml of 6Naqueous HCl were added. The mixture was evaporated in a rotaryevaporator (35° C./20 mm Hg) and then at 0.5 mm Hg to produce an oil.

The oil was suspended in 150 ml of 50% aqueous methanol and allowed tostand overnight at 25° C. A copious white precipitate formed which wascollected by filtration and then dissolved in 250 ml of ethyl acetate. Asmall amount of water was separated from the mixture, and the organiclayer was dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄ and then evaporated in vacuo (30°C./20 mm Hg) to dryness.

The residue was triturated with 50 ml of petroleum ether (bp 30°-60° C.)The solids were collected by filtration, washed with 50 ml of petroleumether in two equal portions, and dried in vacuo (40° C., 0.5 mm Hg) for2 hours to yield 3.1 g (53%) of a colorless solid, m.p. 178°-180° C. Themother liquors were evaporated to yield 1.3 g (22.5%) of a yellow oilwhich NMR analysis showed to be the epimeric hydroxy ester of compoundVII. The total yield was thus 75%.

EXAMPLE 8 Preparation of(trans-rac)-6a,7,10,10a-Tetrahydro-1-hydroxy-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicAcid Methyl Ester (VIII)

A 50-ml reaction flask equipped with a nitrogen bubbler and a magneticstirrer was charged with 1.4 g (0.0037 mole) of compound VII, 10 ml ofpyridine and 2.0 ml of thionyl chloride and then stirred at roomtemperature under nitrogen for 1 hour. The mixture was quenched bypouring into 30 ml of ice water and then extracted into 90 ml of ethylacetate in three equal portions.

The organic layer was dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄ and evaporated todryness in vacuo (25° C., 1 mm Hg) to yield 1.2 g of a solidified foam.This foam was triturated with 30 ml of petroleum ether (30°-60° C.) togive 975 mg (73%) of a light yellow solid, m.p. 107°-110° C. Ananalytical sample was recrystallized from ether-hexanes (1:6) to givecolorless crystals, m.p. 139°-141° C.

EXAMPLE 9 Preparation of(trans-rac)-1-(3-Aminopropoxy)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicAcid Monohydrochloride (IX)

Three hundred and fifty eight mg (0.001 mole) of compound VIII wereadded to a suspension of 60 mg (0.0015 mole) of sodium hydride (Aldrich,60% in mineral oil, prewashed with hexane) in 3.0 ml ofN,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and the mixture was stirred at roomtemperature under nitrogen for 30 minutes. Then, 560 mg (0.00021 mole)of N-3-bromopropylphthalimide were added to produce a brown solutionwhich was stirred under nitrogen for 3 hours.

The mixture was poured into 20 ml of ice water and extracted into 40 mlof ethyl acetate in two equal portions. The organic layers were driedover anhydrous Na₂ SO₄ and evaporated in vacuo (25° C., 1 mm Hg) toyield 740 mg of a yellow oil. The oil was dissolved in 10 ml ofhexanes:ethyl acetate (7:3) and purified by column chromatography in a28 g silica gel column which had been prepacked in hexanes:ethyl acetate(7:3). 200 ml fractions were collected, and those containing the desiredproduct as shown by TLC on silica gel were evaporated in vacuo (25° C.,1 mm Hg) to give 322 mg (57.9%) of a colorless foam.

All of the foam was dissolved in 10 ml of 15% methylamine in methanol,stirred under nitrogen at room temperature for 1 hour and thenevaporated in vacuo (25° C., 1 mm Hg) to dryness. The residue was takenup in a mixture of 10 ml of 2N NaOH and 10 ml of methanol and stirredunder nitrogen overnight. The mixture was then evaporated in vacuo (25°C., 50 mm Hg) to near dryness, acidified with 6N HCl to pH 2, andextracted into 20 ml of ethyl acetate in two equal portions. The organiclayers were dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄ and evaporated to dryness invacuo (25° C., 1 mm Hg), and the residue was triturated with ether toyield 90 mg (35%) of a colorless solid, m.p. 255°-257° C.

EXAMPLE 10 Preparation of(trans-rac)-9-Hydroxy-6a,7,8,9,10,10a-hexahydro-1-(4-nitrobenzyl)-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylic Acid Methyl Ester (X)

A solution of 3.80 g (0.01 mole) of compound VII (see Example 8) in 150ml of acetone was stirred under argon in a 500 ml three-neck flask,while 2.25 g (0.01 mole) of p-nitrobenzylbromide were added. Seven grams(0.05 mole) of finely pulverized anhydrous K₂ CO₃ were added, and theresulting suspension was stirred rapidly under argon for 18 hours at 25°C. Analysis by thin layer chromatography (TLC) on silica gel plates inhexanes-ethyl acetate (7:3) with 10% CeSO₄ /H₂ SO₄, in which the resultswere visualized by a 10% phosphomolybdic acid/ethanol spray followed byheating, showed that the reaction was complete.

The mixture was filtered, and the residue was evaporated in vacuo toafford a yellow oil. This oil was dissolved in 5 ml of ether and pouredover a 30 g plug of silica gel (70-230 mesh, E. Merck) in a sinteredglass funnel. The plug was then eluted with 400 ml of ether, and thesolvent was collected and evaporated to dryness on a rotary evaporatorat 30° C.

Crystallization of the residue from ether-hexane (1:5) afforded 4.7 g ofa fluffy white solid, m.p. 120°-123° C.

EXAMPLE 11 Preparation of(trans-rac)-6a,7,10,10a-Tetrahydro-1-(4-nitrobutyl-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicAcid Methyl Ester (XI)

A mixture containing 2.5 g (0.00488 mole) of compound X, 15 ml ofpyridine and 7.75 g (0.05075 mole) of POCl₃ was stirred at roomtemperature argon for 2 hours. The mixture was then poured into 100 mlof crushed ice and extracted with two 100-ml volumes of CH₂ Cl₂. Theorganic layer was dried over Na₂ SO₄, filtered and evaporated todryness. The residue was taken up in 30 ml of CH₂ Cl₂ and filteredthrough a plug of 20 g of silica gel (70-230 mesh). The plug was elutedwith 100 ml of 1:1 hexane-ether, and the eluant was evaporated todryness on a rotary evaporator at 30° C.

The residue, on trituration from 50 ml of petroleum ether, afforded intwo crops 1.65 g (68%) of colorless prisms, m.p. 165°-167° C.

EXAMPLE 12 Preparation of(trans-rac)-6a,7,10,10a-Tetrahydro-1-(4-aminobenzyl)-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylicAcid Methyl Ester (XII)

A mixture containing 1.65 g (0.003 mole) of compound XI, 50 ml of CH₂Cl₂, 100 ml of ethanol and 3.4 g of 85% hydrazine hydrate (Aldrich) wasrapidly stirred as a slurry. Five hundred milligrams of technical gradeRaney Nickel (pre-rinsed with three 5-ml volumes of ethanol) in ethanolwere then added in one portion. The mixture was rapidly stirred at roomtemperature for 1 hour, after which the catalyst was removed byfiltration over a pad of Celite. The pad was rinsed with three 25-mlvolumes each of CH₂ Cl₂ and ethanol, and the combined filtrates wereevaporated on a rotary evaporator (40° C., 5 mm Hg).

The residue was taken up in 25 ml of CH₂ Cl₂, passed through a plug of25 g of silica gel (70-230 mesh, E. Merck), and eluted with 300 ml ofhexane-ethyl acetate (1:1). The combined eluant was evaporated on arotary evaporator (40° C., 5 mm Hg) to afford 1.5 g of a yellowsemi-solid. This crude product was repurified as described above andthen crystallized from hexane-ether. A yield of 956 mg (62%) of a lightyellow solid, m.p. 112°-114° C., was obtained.

EXAMPLE 13 Preparation of(trans-rac)-6a,7,10,10a-Tetrahydro-1-(4-aminobenzyl)-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)-pyran-9-carboxylicAcid (XIII)

A mixture containing 110 mg (0.22 mmole) of compound XII, 10 ml of 2NNaOH and 25 ml of ethanol was heated at reflux under argon for 1 hour.This mixture was evaporated on a rotary evaporator (30° C., 0.5 mm Hg)to remove most of the ethanol, bringing the volume to about 15 ml. ThepH was adjusted to 2 with 6N HCl, and the mixture was extracted with two30-ml volumes of CH₂ Cl₂.

The organic layer was dried over Na₂ SO₄ and then evaporated (30° C., 10mm Hg) to yield 105 mg of a brown foam. The amorphous amino acid couldnot be crystallized, but analyses by 400 MH_(z) NMR, IR and massspectroscopy were consistent with the expected structure and showed thatthe product was essentially homogeneous.

EXAMPLE 14 Preparation of Anti-THC Antiserum

One hundred mg of a cannabinol derivative having the formula ##STR3##were dissolved in 20 ml of 30% methanol at pH 4.5. To this solution, 84mg of 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride wereadded and the pH was adjusted to 4.5. After mixing at room temperaturefor 30 minutes, 100 mg of methylated bovine serum albumin were added in20 ml of water with mixing, and the pH was again adjusted to 4.5. Thesolution was mixed for 1 hour at room temperature and then overnight at4° C., after which any unconjugated cannabinol derivative was removed bydialysis against 1000-ml volume changes of sodium phosphate buffer at 4°C., to produce a THC-methylated albumin conjugate.

One hundred mg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; microbial source) in 5 ml ofwater were combined with 1 ml of 1.0M NaIO₄ and treated for 2 hours atroom temperature in the dark. One ml of ethylene glycol was added, andthe mixture was stirred for an additional 30 minutes at roomtemperature. The activated lipopolysaccharide was applied to a Sephadex®G-25 column equilibrated with water, and a turbid effluent fraction wascollected.

Five ml of tetrahydrofuran containing 38.75 mg of a cannibinolderivative having the formula ##STR4## were added to the activated-LPSeffluent, and the mixture was incubated for 18 hours at 22° C. in thedark. Two ml of a solution of 4.5 mg/ml NaBH₄ in H₂ O were added, andthe mixture was incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature.Unconjugated THC derivative was removed by dialysis for 2 days againstfrequent changes of water and for 2 days against 0.1M acetic acid, pH3.5, to yield a THC-LPS conjugate.

One hundred mg of human IgG were dissolved in 7 ml of 0.2M NaHCO₃, pH9.6, and 108 mg of a cannabinol derivative having the formula ##STR5##in 2 ml of dioxane were added. Nine additional ml of dioxane were added,and the mixture was mixed intermittently for 4 hours at 4° C., afterwhich 180 ml of cold acetone were added. The mixture was centrifuged for10 minutes at 2,000×g, and the pellet was washed once with 20 ml of coldacetone. Following centrifugation for 10 minutes at 2,000×g, the pelletwas resuspended in 10 ml of phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Dialysiswas carried out for 3 days at 4° C. against 2 changes per day of 1000-mlvolumes of PBS, to produce a THC-human IgG conjugate.

New Zealand white rabbits were injected intramuscularly at the fouraxillary regions with 200 μg of THC in the form of one of the aboveconjugates in 1 ml of Freund's complete adjuvant. Booster injectionscontaining 100 μg of the same conjugates were given after 2 weeks in 1ml of Freund's incomplete adjuvant, and antiserum was harvested from theear veins after 4 weeks.

Acceptable anti-THC antisera from the three rabbits were pooled for useas described below.

EXAMPLE 15 Purification of Anti-THC IgG

Ten milliters of a saturated ammonium sulfate solution were slowly addeddropwise to 20 ml of anti-THC antiserum, with continual stirring at 23°C. Initially, a white precipitate formed which was allowed to redissolveprior to further ammonium sulfate addition. After about 6 ml of theammonium sulfate solution had been added, the precipitate persisted, andfrom that point, the slow dropwise addition has continued without pause.Stirring of the suspension was continued for 2 hours at roomtemperature, after the last of the ammonium sulfate solution had beenadded, after which the mixture was centrifuged at 1,500×g for 30 minutesat room temperature. This procedure puts most of the IgG in the pellet.

After centrifugation, the supernatant fluid was decanted, and the pelletwas dissolved by the addition of TRIS/saline (composition) to a finalvolume of 20 ml. The IgG in the solution was reprecipitated byrepetition of the above ammonium sulfate addition and centrifugationsteps, after which the supernatant fluid was again decanted. The pelletwas dissolved in 10 ml of 0.02M Tris/saline, pH 7.5, with 0.01%thimerosal (sodium ethylmercurithiosalicylate).

To remove the ammonium sulfate from the IgG-containing solution,dialysis was carried out overnight at 4° C. against three 2-litervolumes of 0.02M Tris/saline. The material in the dialysis bag was thenbrought to a final volume of 20 ml by the addition of 0.02M Tris/saline.This solution was centrifuged at 2,000×g for 30 minutes at 4° C., and asmall pellet which was formed was discarded. Protein concentration inthe final IgG-containing solution was then determined byspectrophotometric analysis at 280 nm to be about 5.3 mg/ml.

EXAMPLE 16 Preparation of Anti-THC Beads

A 4-liter vacuum flask was filled to the 2,500 ml mark with 1/4" frostedpolystyrene beads (Clifton Plastics, Inc., Clifton Heights, PA), and2,500 ml of 95% ethanol were added with stirring. The flask was placedunder vacuum (1 mm Hg) for 30 minutes at room temperature, and theethanol was decanted. The ethanol addition, vacuum treatment anddecanting steps were repeated twice more, after which the beads weresuspended in 3 l of deionized water. The water was decanted, and thebeads were twice more washed in this fashion with 3-liter portions ofdeionized water. Two liters of deionized water were then added to thedecanted beads, and the mixture was allowed to stand overnight at roomtemperature. Throughout the washing procedure, it is important that thebeads are never allowed to dry out.

To coat the washed beads with antibodies against THC, the anti-THC IgGsolution described above was diluted to a final protein concentration of25 μg/ml with 50 mM sodium borate buffer, pH 8.0 (coating solution). Thebeads were coated by adding 143 ml (enough to cover the beads) of thecoating solution to a measured volume of 250 ml of the settled beads(about 1,000 beads) from which the water had been decanted, and thenletting the mixture stand for 18-24 hours at 18°-26° C.

Following the coating procedure, the coating solution was decanted anddiscarded, and the beads were washed three times at 4° C. with 500 mlvolumes of a washing buffer containing 0.01M sodium phosphate in 0.15Msaline with 0.01% thimerosal, pH 7.2. Each time, the beads werethoroughly suspended in the washing solution by stirring, and thesolution was decanted after the beads had been allowed to settle.Throughout this procedure, care was taken to ensure that the beads didnot dry out.

Next, the beads were treated to block unsaturated sites, using one oftwo procedures. Throughout the procedures that follow, the beads werehandled only with plastic or glass utensils.

A 250 ml settled volume (about 1,000 beads) of the washed anti-THCcoated beads above was treated after decanting with about 143 ml (enoughto cover the beads) of a 45° C. blocking buffer containing 100 mM sodiumphosphate with 1.0% bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 0.05% thimerosal, pH6.8, for 18-24 hours. Following the blocking buffer treatment, the beadswere washed three times with 500 ml portions of fresh blocking buffer at4° C. Each time, the beads were suspended in the buffer with stirringand then allowed to settle, and the buffer was decanted. For storage, aquantity of the blocking buffer sufficient to cover the beads was added,and the beads were kept at 4° C. until needed.

Of course, the above procedures can be scaled up as desired, as long asthe relative proportions of beads and solutions were maintained.

EXAMPLE 17 Preparation of THC Derivative-Peroxidase Conjugates

Ten milligrams of horseradish peroxidase [Boehringer Mannheim or Seravac(Pel Freeze)] were activated for conjugation by dissolving in 3 ml ofdeionized water, stirring for 1 hour in the dark room at roomtemperature. One half ml of 0.1M sodium metaperiodate (sodium periodate)was slowly added to the above solution over 20 minutes with stirring inthe dark room at room temperature. The sodium periodate solution wasprepared fresh immediately before use, and the activation reaction wasstopped by adding 0.5 ml of 0.5M ethylene glycol, chilled to 4°-8° C.

The mixture was immediately placed in dialysis tubing (Spectrapor,molecular weight cutoff 12,000-14,000) and dialyzed overnight at 4° C.against three 1-liter changes of 0.01M sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.5.Following dialysis, the material in the bag (volume 4.0 ml) was placedin a 10 ml amber Wheaton vial.

For the conjugation reaction, 4 ml of a 1:1 mixture of ethanol:0.4Msodium acetate buffer, pH 5.5 containing about 0.56 mg of(trans-rac)-1-(3-aminopropoxy)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d) pyran-9-carboxylic acid monohydrochloride (compound IX, see FIG. 1and Example 9, supra) were added dropwise with stirring to the activatedperoxidase solution and allowed to react for 2 hours at room temperaturein the dark.

To stabilize the Schiff's bases that had formed, 1 ml of 0.1M sodiumcyanoborohydride was added to the peroxidase conjugation mixture, andthe mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature in the dark.

The stabilized conjugation reaction mixture was then divided into fourequal portions and applied to four Pharmacia PD-10 columns which hadpreviously been equilibrated with buffer containing 0.2M sodiumphosphate, pH 6.8 (chromatography buffer). The applied portions were runinto the tops of the column beds and overlaid with 4 ml of thechromatography buffer.

A volume of column eluate of about 12.4 ml was collected from eachcolumn. Spectrophotometric analysis at 403 nm showed that the recoveryof peroxidase in conjugated form was about 66%, taking the extinctioncoefficient to be 2.3.

Five milliliters of the conjugate eluant solution were diluted with 0.2Msodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.8 (diluted THC-peroxidase conjugatereagent), for use as described below.

EXAMPLE 18 THC-Enzyme Immunoassay Protocol

A series of 11×75 mm polystryene test tubes was set up containingduplicate 50 ul aliquots of urine specimens to be analyzed or normalcontrol or THC standard-containing urine samples. The standard andnormal control aliquots were taken from normal urine samples containing0, 50, 100, 200 or 500 ng/ml added 9-carboxy-11nor-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (100 μg/ml in absolute ethanol, Research TriangleInstitute, Research Triangle Park, NC). Two-hundred-fifty microliters ofthe diluted THC-peroxidase conjugate reagent were added to each tube,and the tubes were shaken. One anti-THC bead was then added to eachtube, the contents of the tubes were mixed and the tubes were incubatedfor 30 minutes at room temperature.

After the incubation, the beads were washed three times by adding 3 mlaliquots of deionized water with shaking and then aspirating the water.Two-hundred-fifty microliters of a chromogen reagent containing 7.2mg/ml o-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride and 6 mM H₂ O₂ in 0.1Mpotassium citrate buffer, pH 5.25, with 0.1 ml/liter of solution KathonCG® (an isothiazolin solution from Rohm and Haas) added as apreservative to each washed bead, and the tubes were incubated for 10minutes at room temperature in the dark. The reactions were then stoppedby the addition of 1 ml of 1N sulfuric acid to each tube, and theabsorbance of the sample solutions was measured at 492 nm.

A plot of absorbance at 492 nm versus 9-carboxy-11-nor-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration for the standards employed is shownin FIG. 3.

EXAMPLE 19 Clinical Sample Analysis

To establish the sensitivity and accuracy of the THC-enzyme immunoassayof the invention, a series of 60 clinical urine samples was evaluatedusing the assay (EIA) and the Roche THC radioimmunoassay (RIA) system,with the results shown in Table 1.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Comparison of EIA and RIA THC Analyses                                        Sample THC (ng/ml) by          THC (ng/ml) by                                 No.    EIA.sup.a                                                                              RIA.sup.b                                                                              Sample No.                                                                            EIA.sup.a                                                                            RIA.sup.b                             ______________________________________                                        1      300      >200     31      >500   >200                                  2      >500     >200     32      >500   >200                                  3      >500     >200     33      >500   >200                                  4      217      >200     34      300    >200                                  5      3.5      0.0      35      >500   >200                                  6      >500     >200     36      >500   >200                                  7      >500     >200     37      7.0    0.0                                   8      >500     >200     38      >500   >200                                  9      >500     >200     39      190    200                                   10     120      125      40      250    >200                                  11     5.0      0.0      41      10.0   0.0                                   12     94       141      42      467    >200                                  13     189      >200     43      194    106                                   14     47       50       44      465    >200                                  15     500      >200     45      16.5   0.0                                   16     154      >200     46      >500   >200                                  17     217      190      47      >500   >200                                  18     110      86       48      >500   >200                                  19     180      > 200    49      338    176                                   20     500      >200     50      >500   >200                                  21     >500     >200     51      500    >200                                  22     90       157      52      16.5   0.0                                   23     427      >200     53      17.0   0.0                                   24     13       0.0      54      >500   >200                                  25     >500     >200     55      193    195                                   26     >500     >200     56      467    198                                   27     >500     >200     57      340    158                                   28     466      >200     58      >500   >200                                  29     335      >200     59      >500   >200                                  30     8.0      0.0      60      13.5   0.0                                   ______________________________________                                         .sup.a EIA represents the THCenzyme immunoassay of the invention.             .sup.b RIA represents the commercial THC radioimmunoassay system of Roche     Diagnostic Systems, a division of HoffmannLa Roche Inc., Nutley, New          Jersey.                                                                  

The threshold for a positive test in Table 1 was taken to be 50 ng/ml9-carboxy-11-nor-Δ⁹ -tetrahydrocannabinol in the EIA, and 100 ng/ml inthe RIA. Based upon these criteria for a positive test, only sample 18showed a discrepancy between the results obtained from the twoanalytical methods. This sample was positive by EIA but negative by RIA.Sample 18 was retested by both methods and found to be positive in theretests by both RIA and EIA.

As a further check on the specificity of the THC-enzyme immunoassay, anumber of drugs not related to the cannabinoids were added to poolednormal human urine samples at a concentration of 10,000 ng/ml and testedby the method. None of these compounds, which are listed in Table 2,were positive in the assay.

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Drugs Tested for Cross-Reactivity                                             ______________________________________                                        Acetaminophen  Guaiacol glycerol ether                                        Acetylsalicyclic acid                                                                        Hydrochlorothiazide                                            Aminopyrine    Hydrocodone bitartrate                                         Amitryptyline  Hydromorphone hydrochloride                                    Amobarbital    p-Hydroxyphenobarbital monohydrate                             Amphetamine    Imipramine                                                     Ampicillin     Lidocaine                                                      Apomorphine    Melanin                                                        Ascorbic acid  Meperidine                                                     Atropine       Methadone                                                      Benzocaine     d-Methamphetamine hydrochloride                                Benzoylecgonine (cocaine                                                                     Methaqualone                                                   metabolite)                                                                   Butabarbital   Methyprylon                                                    Caffeine       Morphine                                                       Calcium hypochlorite                                                                         Naproxen                                                       Chlordiazepoxide                                                                             Niacinamide                                                    Chloropheniramine                                                                            Norethindrone                                                  Chloroquine    Oxazepam                                                       Chlorpromazine Oxycodone hydrochloride                                        Cocaine hydrochloride                                                                        Penicillin G                                                   Codeine        Pentobarbital                                                  Cyclopentobarbital                                                                           Phencyclidine                                                  Dextromethorphan                                                                             Phenobarbital                                                  Dextropropoxyphene HCl                                                                       Phenothiazine                                                  Diallylbarbituric acid                                                                       Phenylbutazone                                                 Diazepam       Phenylpronanolamine                                            Dihydrocodeine bitartrate                                                                    Procaine hydrochloride                                         5,6 Dihydroxyindole                                                                          Promethazine                                                   Diphenylhydantoin                                                                            Propoxyphene                                                   Ecgonine hydrochloride                                                                       Quinine hydrochloride                                          Epinephrine    Sodium secobarbital                                            Erythromycin   Tetracycline                                                   Estriol        Tetrahydrozoline                                               Gentisic acid  Trifluoperazine                                                Gluthethimide  Zomepirac                                                      ______________________________________                                    

Many modifications and variations of this invention may be made withoutdeparting from its spirit and scope, as will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art. The specific embodiments described herein areoffered by way of example only, and the invention is limited only by theterms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for the immunoassay of cannabinol metabolites, comprising:(a) mixing a sample suspected to contain cannabinol metabolites with known amounts of a labeled compound comprising a compound of the formula ##STR6## where R is an attachment chain selected from the group consisting of a p-aminobenzyl group or an organic or mineral acid addition salt thereof, a p-isocyanatobenzyl group, a p-isothiocyanatobenzyl group, a branched or linear aminoalkyl group having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms or an organic or mineral acid addition salt thereof, a branched or linear isocyanatoalkyl group having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms, a branched or linear isothiocyanatoalkyl group having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms, and a carboxyl-terminated derivative of the amino group in such aminoalkyl group, having from 1 to 7 additional carbon atoms, or an organic or mineral acid addition salt thereof; which group or derivative is covalently coupled to a reporter group; and antibodies prepared against a cannabinol metabolite conjugated at the 9 position to an immunogenic carrier, which antibodies are also capable of selectively binding the labeled compound; (b) separating the bound from the free labeled compound; (c) measuring the amount of either the free or the bound labeled compound; (d) comparing the amount of the labeled compound measured to values obtained from samples containing known amounts of a cannabinol metabolite; and (e) determining the amount of cannabinol metabolites in the sample from the comparison of step (d).
 2. The method of claim 1 in which the antibodies are immobilized on a solid support.
 3. The method of claim 1 in which the reporter group is an enzyme.
 4. The method of claim 3 in which the enzyme is a peroxidase.
 5. A method for the immunoassay of cannabinol metabolites, comprising:(a) mixing a sample suspected to contain cannabinol metabolites with known amounts of a labeled compound comprising (trans-rac)-1-(3-aminopropoxy)-6a, 7, 10, 10a-tetrahydro-6,6-dimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo(b,d)pyran-9-carboxylic acid or an organic or mineral acid addition salt thereof, which compound is covalently coupled to a reporter group by the amino group, and antibodies prepared against a cannabinol metabolite conjugated at the 9 position to an immunogenic carrier, which antibodies are also capable of selectively binding the labeled compound; (b) separating the bound from the free labeled compound; (c) measuring the amount of either the free or the bound labeled compound; (d) comparing the amount of the labeled compound measured to values obtained from samples containing known amounts of a cannabinol metabolite; and (e) determining the amount of cannabinol metabolites in the sample from the comparison of step (d).
 6. The method of claim 5 in which the antibodies are immobilized on a solid support.
 7. The method of claim 5 in which the reporter group is an enzyme.
 8. The method of claim 7 in which the enzyme is a peroxidase. 